Graphene as 'the philosopher's stone': Turning waste into gold

Throughout history, alchemists believed in the existence of the philosopher's stone: a substance that could turn cheap substances into precious gold. Now scientists from The University of Manchester, Tsinghua University in China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have shown that graphene can be a kind of philosopher's stone, allowing gold extraction from waste containing only trace amounts of gold (down to billionth of a percent).